This invention is directed to the field of planting seeds in vast areas of land, more particularly to an airborne delivery system that drops pouches of bagged seeds from a slow moving aircraft, such as a helicopter, lighter-than-air airship, and related vehicles.
The present invention relates to a new system for delivering seed pouches to remote areas, such as those areas that may have been subjected to a devastating fire. The co-pending applications noted above, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety, teach a lighter-than-air airship having as a primary purpose the fighting of fires with an essentially endless supply of water or liquid fire suppressant. The disclosed lighter-than-air airship represents a preferred means for delivering the seed pouches.
Forest fire destruction can have an enormous impact on the environment. In order to replace the forest, tree seeds or seedlings have to be planted, usually by hand. This can be a tedious and expensive task. Further, even to get to the seedling stage, can be a long and labor intensive job. The seedlings have to be grown in a nursery or laboratory, then handled and transplanted several times before they are of a size to be placed in a pouch for manual planting. Further, seedlings would require special containment and conveyor systems to reduce breakage and root damage during an attempt at airborne delivery. In contrast, as will become apparent hereafter, seed pouches can be handled roughly and do not require ancillary equipment.
The present invention provides a unique system to reforest a devastated area without the tedious work of preparing seedlings and manually planting same, particularly in areas that are not readily accessible to vehicles. The manner by which the system of this invention can reforest remote areas will become apparent in the further description, particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
This invention relates to a reforestation delivery system by air drops from slow moving aircraft and other vehicles, and to a biodegradable, seed and nourishment containing pouch that partially penetrates the ground to allow the seed to germinate and grow. A preferred pouch comprises a generally cone or sphere-like shape having a biodegradable cover, such as a burlap material, which may be coated with ground cover seeds and nutrients. The cover is glued or tied at the top so that the corners of the cover material flare outward to help facilitate a directional fall. Within the pouch there is provided (a) potting soil, nutrients and sand, as appropriate for the area to be planted, (b) and in a preferred embodiment an elongated stake or nutrient stick vertically oriented within the soil and sand, where the lower end is pointed to help facilitate penetration of the ground, an upper end that may be flared to hold the stake or nutrient stick within the pouch, and a central hole to contain the seed(s) to be planted. In dropping the pouch from a slow moving airborne system and the like, the flared end acts like the blades of a helicopter to maintain a proper orientation and controlled descent of the pouch to penetrate or spread on the ground. Optionally, the lower end of the pouch may be soaked with water, or even flash frozen, to help in the germination of the seed(s).
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a biodegradable, seed(s) containing pouch to be dropped from a slow moving aircraft or related vehicle, to reforest remote areas not readily accessible to ground vehicles.
Another object hereof is the provision of an elongated stake within the pouch to receive the seed(s) and facilitate penetration of the ground where planting is desired.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a biodegradable pouch cover that helps facilitate in the spreading and nurturing of ground cover seeds.
Still another object is a seed(s) pouch that features a flared top to help maintain the orientation of the pouch as it falls from the airborne system, etc.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from a reading of the following specification, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.